The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-12-12

The Picture That Is Puzzling Philadelphia
Photographers

The Picture That Is Puzzhng philadelphia
Photographers.
Philadelphia Inquirer.
A photograph was taken in a sitting room up
town a few weeks ago that has been puzzing
amateur and professional photographers alike
since. The artist was w. Curtis Taylor,
one of the most experienced photographers IN
the city, and the subject Mas a group of
eighteen young ladies. 1t was not good
picture, because several of the ladies moved,
and Mr.. Taylor had them sit again, but he
finished up the negative and took proof print
from it, and then he saw several queer things IN
It.
On the extreme right of the group one lady
stood party against a white door, while another
lady sat directly in front of her. The clear out
lines of their faces show that neither of these
ladies changed her position during the exposure
of the plate; nevertheless the edge of the door
frame which appears above their heads, is con-
tinued without break down through the hair
of the lady who is standing, jvst misses her eye
and loses itself in her chin while the paneling
OF the door shows through her shoulder and
through the hair of the lady sitting in front OF
her.
Two Ia dies stood against the closed shutters Of
bay window. Both their faces show distinctly
in the pilot ograph, but the lines of the moding
appear through the hair of both. The light
struck this section of the window Two other
ladies stood-one against dark section OF the
window, the other against part of the frame
which shows light Both faces badly
blurred but in neither case do the lines behind
them appear on their portraits.
In all these cases in which the young ladies
appear SO alarmingly transparent, photographers
say there is only one way to account for the
mystery-the ladies must have moved long
enough for the high lights behind them to i'm
press themselves on the sensitive plate, which
they will do under certain circumstances like
flash. The obvious fact that to do this some of
them, especially the lady first mentioned. must
have swung their heads and shoulders through
an of 45O is not permitted to interfere with
the hypothesis.
But the hypothesis, such as it is. breaks down
completely before the problem presented by the
central figure of the eroup-a lady sitting In a
deep, comfortable armchair with q solid back
of wicker-work. She could not have moved out
of that chair without falling out. and her beau
tiful clear portrait the best in the group shows
that she must have sat like a statue; yet through
her face, through her neck and through her
body all the way down to her waist the wicker
plating of the chair back is seen almost as dis
tinctly as If there were nothing between it and
the lens. The ladys body appears dark
shadow projected on the lighter surface Of the
chair.
Taylor promptly gave it up. The proof has
passed through the hands of a number of pho
tographers. both professional AMI amateur. and
was discussed at the recent meeting of the Am
ateur Photographers Society, and always with
the same result. AS a last resource it was sub
mitted to A. X. P. Trask, the PHOTOGRAPHER OF
the Sevbert Commission, who has made special
study of ghostly photography, and can turn out
spirit photographs" in any quantity to order.
He accepted the movement hypothesis as to the
door and window lines, but when his attention
called to the wicker chair he confessed that
it was beyond his philosophy. and he could not
account for it.
This is tho way the stands now: The
photograph cannot be accounted for under any
of the known laws of matter; though it may nave
something TO do with the fourth dimension"
for which theorists contend. 1t is not
Esprit photograph" for. if it were Mr.. Trask
would recognize it, and. besides. building ma
terials and articles of furniture do not have
spirits None of the known laws of optics
to meet the case and for the present it remains
a curious scientific problem.